


Be Happy

by klutzy34



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Take On Canon, Grief, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Referenced Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-03
Updated: 2016-11-03
Packaged: 2018-08-28 21:02:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8462833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klutzy34/pseuds/klutzy34
Summary: In the aftermath of Matt's death, Danny has just one thing to ask of Steve.





	

Despite his less than average height, Danny was not small. He was a force to be reckoned with, a hurricane of a personality, overt affection and outspoken personality, physically broad shoulders and obvious swagger making up for what he lacked in size. No, Danny was not small - except now as Steve sat on the end of the couch in the Williams’ family’s living room, watching as his partner and best friend took another swig straight from a bottle with dark colored glass, wincing as the liquid went down. Whatever it was, it had kick to it.  


He pulled his hand from his pocket and ran it through his hair for the fifth time in several minutes, making it messier and messier, a fitting accompaniment to the bloodshot eyes and slight weave of his body, tie hanging undone around his neck, shirt untucked. The “Celebration of Life” after the funeral had ended only an hour ago, but Danny had felt he had more important objectives. Take care of his mother, take care of his father, clean up, find the most potent booze he could. 

“I have something t’ say,” Danny murmured, holding up a finger in the air and shaking it, the slur now a little more pronounced. “I have something t’ say and I want you, Steven McGarrett, to make me a promise.” 

Steve gave him a serious nod and pat the cushion next to him. “Only if you sit down before you fall down,” he said quietly. They were the only ones left up, but the living room still held a strange, quiet reverence from the mourners gathered earlier.

Danny stumbled over and sat down heavily on the edge of the couch cushion, taking another swig. “You want?” he asked, offering it out, but Steve waved it off. One of them had to remain sober. “Okay, so, here’s the thing. I want you to promise me that you’re going t’ live. You’re going t’ live and you’re going t’ do what makes you happy and I’m not going t’ ask you not to leave me, because I don’t have the right, but I need you to promise me you’re going t’ get old and gray and you’ll be happy, okay?” He pat Steve’s hands and when he finally looked over at him, Steve could see the glint of oncoming tears in the corner of his eyes. 

“Because Matty shoulda had that. He should be here right now and we’d be in Hawaii because it’d be a normal day. Grace - Grace partner - should be here too and Billy. Meka. They should all be here and - and maybe sometimes I wish it’d been me instead because people just seem to...leave,” he whispered, fidgeting with the bottle as he looked down. Steve pretended not to notice as he swiped at his eyes angrily. “They deserved to be happy in life, to have everything they ever wanted. Good people,” he added, then swallowed hard. If Steve had to guess, trying to discard the lump in his throat. “Me? I’m rough and abrasive and that’s just me but I make people go away and I don’t want them to go away anymore, Steve. I don’t -“ 

If it hadn’t been for the liquid truth serum, he knew without a doubt that Danny would have kept every word of that bottled up inside and when morning came around, mortification would set in and he would make Steve swear to forget the conversation - if he even remembered at all - and never talk about it again. His expression softening in sympathy, Steve nudged his dress shoes off and put his feet up on the couch while he reached over to gently pull Danny towards him. 

The bottle went down beside the couch and suddenly Danny’s upper body lay heavily in his lap, fitting just right between his knees while his arms slid around Steve’s waist, his head resting against his abdomen. Steve waited for him to get comfortable, then dropped a hand to his shoulder, first rubbing it soothingly, then sliding it up to rub at a spot he’d seen Danny fidget with on more than one anxious occasion, right behind his left ear. 

Danny’s eyes began to droop heavily. “Buddy, I can’t promise that I’m entirely happy now, but I’m working on it. A big reason why is that you’re part of my life, so no, I will never leave you or let you leave. You’re stuck with me.” He felt rather than heard the soft snort that shook Danny’s body, grinning at the reaction. “I love you, partner. Through hell and back again. You _are_ worth staying around for.”

Silence fell and for a moment, Steve wondered if Danny had fallen asleep on him. Then he felt the light tug as Danny gripped the tail of his shirt, holding onto him tighter. “I love you too, Steve,” he said, his voice thick with unshed tears. “Through hell and back again.”

As he shifted, he was careful not to jostle Danny, getting into a more comfortable position on the couch. It wasn’t long before he fell asleep, his fingers still lazily soothing the spot behind Danny’s ear, running through blond hair. 

When the sun rose in the morning, they were still there, Steve propped up in the couch’s corner while Danny sprawled over his lower body, sleeping for the first time in days.


End file.
